laying the foundation for high-speed rail corridors in 34 states and the district of columbia. in california, the nation's first true high-speed rail will break ground this year. four years ago very few people were talking about high-speed passenger rail in america. when the president put $8 billion in economic recovery in the plan that was a billion times more than our country had ever invested in high-speed passenger rail. today it's up to 12 million. the countries that i went to and visited in the first two years of my time in this job, there was a common denominator, a common theme in every country, the national government made investments in passenger rail. and finally, with president obama's vision we have a leader who has made a commitment in our country in the high-speed passenger rail act. and it's a strong commitment, and it will continue. our goal and their dream is to connect 80% of the country over the next 25 years, our best partners have been governor's, our best partners have been secretaries of transportation. our best partners have been the people with a visio